SOFTBALL

The Huntington softball team dropped a pair of home games to Goshen, 2-1, 10-4, Thursday afternoon. The Maple Leafs are off to a great start as their record now stands at 12-5 overall, 4-0 in league play.

The first four innings of the opener came and went quickly and quietly with neither team finding home. Breanna Hines finally broke the silence with a shot up the middle in the fifth to score Maddie Duvall who had drawn a walk a few batters prior.

Goshen’s equalizer came in their next at-bat, the top of the sixth, on a sac fly. Tied 1-1 heading into the seventh, the Maple Leafs led off with back-to-back singles which set the stage for the game-winner, an Ella McLeod’s RBI-single through the right side.

Unfortunately, it was three up, three down for HU in their half of the frame to end the game. The hosts finished with four hits to Goshen’s six. Karlee Franklin spent the whole game on the bump to be charged with the loss having given up six hits, two runs and four walks while striking out seven.

After struggling at the plate for the last few weeks, Huntington got their bats going in the nightcap but errors were their ruin. Despite hammering out ten hits to the tune of four runs, things unraveled midgame for the hosts defensively. Four errors over three frames, starting in the fourth, played a role in Goshen’s first seven runs, all of which were unearned. It made for a 7-4 GC lead heading into the seventh where the guests added three more to their total to cap off the night.

Hines drove in two of HU’s four runs, the first in the third on a sacrifice fly and the second on a fielder’s choice in the sixth. Audrey Barnes finished with a pair of hits including an RBI-double, while Jocelyn Winebrenner also belted in a run on a hard-hit single to left.

After Natalie Haselby tossed the first three frames, Maddie Turner came in on relief to be tagged with the loss. She gave up seven hits, nine runs, only three of which were earned, and five walks while striking out five.

The Foresters (5-10, 0-4) are back at home on Tuesday to host Saint Francis at 3:00 p.m.